What do YOU do for a food craving?

What do you do when you are craving a certain food or meal that isn't necesarily the best choice for you?  Do you try to find a substitue? Do you eat it and throughly enjoy a small portion and chalk it up to "normal" eating?  What do you do if it is a trigger food you are craving?

I tend to choose to have a small portion of what I'm craving and focus on enjoying every bite. If it's not a trigger food (bbq chips and good ice cream for me) it works great and I don't crave that food again for quite some time.

For the last few weeks I've been craving going to to a certain resturant for breakfast and we went today. I ended up having 1/4 of an english muffin, 1 egg, 1 slice of canadian bacon and 1/4 cup hasbrowns all delicious and I just had the exact same thing as my dinner (leftovers you know). Now these foods in and of themselves aren't "bad" but I'm pretty sure they are not as healthy as they would be if I made them at home.

Trixie 

 

When I crave something it's usually sweets.  So what I eat when I'm craving chocolate is Breyers Carb Smart ice cream bars.  They are tasty (well I have had real ice cream in so long these taste yummy to me).  They are only 9 carbs I think.  Another thing I will get once in a great while is Weigh****chers chocolate cookie dough ice cream sundae...this has a lot more calories and carbs than the Carb Smart bars.  So I don't eat them often at all...but they taste sooooo good. 

As for trigger foods (like for me Mcdonalds or Girl Scout cookies) I just stay the Hell the away from them.  Because I'm like an addict with drugs...so it's best to just stay away.  Plus I notice the longer I stay away from them the easier it is for me.  I don't really crave that stuff much any more. 

While in the loosing stage give in and have a little bit once and while.  When you get to maintenance  you can give in a little bit more often. But not TOO OFTEN LOL !!

I promised myself at the beginning of my journey that I am not going to say that I am on a Diet anymore. 

For the last 20 years or so ,it has felt like  I have started a diet every Monday.  And every Monday morning I started off thinking what I cannot have instead of what would be a healthy choice.  I got fatter and fatter on DIET FOOD!!!

Pre band if I gave in and had the craving I ended up eating the whole plate.  Now with my band buddy , a couple of very slow, savoring bites and I am good to go.

PMS time is chocolate time.  Always has been and always will.  In the past I would have had a couple of blocks of the good milk chocolate.  Now I buy dark chocolate ( I do not really like it but it does the trick)  I can have my couple of squares and not gorge on it.

Someone in my support group told me something that has really stuck with me.  :" If you love it- do not buy it or eat it.  ( because you know you will not stop until you have gone back for more until it is all gone)   If you like something,  eat it.  There is a big difference in  only liking it and not loving it .

Or you can be a good band girl and have a large glass of water - yeah right !!

Hats off to all of you!!!

I have to say, I just gut it out and have nothing....

I try to save the room in that pouch for the dense proteins we keep hearing about. I am afraid of deviating even a little....for fear I may lose more hair, or won't heal right, or something like that.

It's weird, never happened before in my life as an overweight person, but I bet there will be a time where I break all the rules just because I can.....

I know it's really OCD, but I'm stuck there right now....

Trixie,

Me personally, I just eat the food but in moderation.  I have spent to many yrs trying to avoid foods and losing weight and it just never worked for me. 

If I have to start saying I cant eat this or that then that makes me want the food even more lol.

I hate it when people tell me I cant eat this or I cant eat that it just dont work, now if I cant eat it because of my band that is a different story .

I just eat everything in moderation.  I was never a sweets eater so candy, pies, cake, and ice cream those things dont bother me at all.  I have all that stuff in my house right now well expect for cake and pie lol.

I just dont believe that you should have to give up anything, but you do have to learn how to eat it in moderation and how often to have it :o) 

EXACTLY what Steerfan said!

The only way I am successful with this band is because I DON'T deprive myself.  It only makes me want it more and more and when I do finally cave in, I binge on it. 
Old habits never die!  LOL.
I do it all in moderation and I don't punish myself if I do induldge.
If anything, I end up at the gym! 

I either substitute or have a small amount of whatever it is I'm craving...,. my big one is Ben & Jerry's ice cream.  When the craving attacks, I usually get a pint of B&J frozen yogurt.  Last time I got the real ice cream, at a quarter of the pint and threw the rest in the garbage to resist temptation. 
I have found that keeping Yoplait Whipped yogurt in the freezer is a great substitute for me.  I keep a lot of it around because when the ice cream craving hits, if the yogurt is there and the ice cream is not, I reach for that instead!